Rocco left Massin to it and walked along to the office Saint-Cloud was using. Unsurprisingly, the security chief was less welcoming, having already heard of Rocco’s ‘sick leave’ and his visit to London.
‘Was there really a need for such subterfuge, Inspector?’ he asked coolly. ‘We are, after all, working for the same side.’
‘I needed to check out a few facts first.’
‘I see. Did you discover anything?’ Saint-Cloud sat back and examined his fingernails in a manner that indicated he was about to hear nothing of great importance.
‘I’ve got a location,’ said Rocco, ‘as I told you already. Now I think I know who the driver will be.’
‘Really?’ Saint-Cloud looked unimpressed. ‘Who?’
Rocco told him and placed Calloway’s summary file on the desk, reminding him that the driver had previously been in the Amiens area in company with a gangster named Tasker, who worked for a well-known London gang boss named Gerald Ketch.
‘A stunt driver?’ Saint-Cloud exclaimed. ‘Why on earth would such a man risk his life for this kind of venture? It makes no sense. He’s not even French, for the love of God!’
‘Nor were some of the previous attackers,’ Rocco pointed out. ‘The men in the garage at Creteil, for example, were Spanish and Corsican.’ He knew he was on weak ground here. He still hadn’t figured out what would make Calloway do such a thing, unless the man loved the idea of extreme danger to such an extent that he actually harboured a death wish. But not acting on it carried too much risk. ‘I also saw Patrice Delarue in a London restaurant used by criminals. He was with two men who are very close to Ketch.’
‘Patrice who?’
Rocco reminded himself that Saint-Cloud was not necessarily familiar with the current big names of the Paris underworld. ‘He’s a gang boss based in Paris.’
‘Did you witness all these people together?’
‘No. But they are known by the Metropolitan Police to have close connections.’ He felt himself losing ground, and added, ‘There’s something else. I need more information about the attackers at Guignes.’
‘Why?’ Saint-Cloud’s voice was flat, unpromising. He pushed the summary file to one side with a flick of his hand. ‘How can that help now?’
‘Because there may be a link. We do the same with crimes bearing similar hallmarks; one bank robbery may have similarities with another because one man might be connected with both teams. Criminals share and trade information and expertise all the time. If one group can’t handle a job, they’ll trade it on to someone who can. The planning of a bank job or a jewel raid will carry certain recognisable facets — a signature. If the job is a success, sooner or later that signature will occur again.’
‘But we are not talking about a bank raid, are we?’
‘I know. This is far more serious. All I need is the file on the attack. If it proves unhelpful, well, we’ve lost nothing.’
‘What do you expect the file to tell you that I cannot here and now?’
‘The names of the men involved. Where they came from, who else they knew; connections, affiliations, everything about them.’
‘But we know of only one man who was killed. Another was thought to have been wounded, but he got away.’
Rocco took a deep breath. ‘What about the police escort?’
‘What about them? They did their duty, that is all you need to know.’
‘They might have seen something that could help; something they didn’t recall at the time.’
But Saint-Cloud was already shaking his head. ‘No, Inspector, this really will not help.’ He stood up and walked over to the door. ‘I think you have just wasted two days chasing shadows. Frankly, I had expected better of you.’
Rocco resisted the hand that was trying to propel him towards the door. He sensed that he now had nothing to lose. ‘Why were Jules Broissard and Henri Portier at New Scotland Yard? Were they investigating an English link, too?’
Saint-Cloud gave him an almost sympathetic look, shaking his head. ‘Inspector, that is an impertinence. What members of the security services do is no concern of yours.’ He drew in a deep breath. ‘In fact, you may consider yourself no longer assigned to this project. I will bring in another officer capable of being more detached and less
… shall we say, fanciful about what constitutes a real threat to the safety of the president. I will advise Commissaire Massin accordingly. Good day to you.’
By the time Rocco was back home in Poissons, he had climbed down off his furious high at Saint-Cloud’s decision, realising that there was little he could do about it. The man had the power to do whatever he pleased, and if that meant ignoring warnings about a threat to the president’s life, that was up to him. But he was determined not to let the matter rest. For now, though, he had other things to attend to.
He walked round to Mme Denis next door, to thank her for taking in his mail and bread.
‘My pleasure, Lucas,’ she murmured. ‘Would you care for some tea?’
He shook his head. ‘That’s very kind, but I need sleep more.’ He placed a paper bag on the table and explained about having had to go to London at a moment’s notice. ‘I tried to steal one from Buckingham Palace, but there were too many guards. I hope this is a good substitute.’
The old lady opened the bag with ill-concealed eagerness and took out a folded square of linen. Throwing Rocco a mock scowl, she opened the square with a small sigh of delight, shaking out the colours into the room like a magician performing a conjuring trick. It was a table square, an intricate design of yellows and golds and subtle blues, and she gazed at it with her mouth forming an oval.
‘Mon Dieu, que c’est beau,’ she whispered, and looked at him. ‘How did you know?’
‘I’m a cop,’ he said dryly. ‘It’s my job.’
She flapped a gently admonishing hand against his arm and turned, pulling the existing coated cotton tablecloth off the table and spreading the new one in its place with a practised flick of her hands. She smoothed it down, then stood back and admired it. ‘Now that,’ she said decisively, ‘merits a coffee morning tomorrow, let me tell you. Let the other old biddies try and top that!’ She shrugged and smiled. ‘I know — a touch of vanity. But every now and then, it’s good for the soul.’
But when she turned back, Rocco had already slipped out, pulling the door closed behind him.
‘Ah, the wanderer returns.’ Claude answered his door in an open shirt, with a smell of cooking wafting around him and a towel thrown across one shoulder. ‘I heard you’d gone sick, but I figured that was a ruse. Care to come in and share with your closest colleague or are you sworn to secrecy on pain of the big chop?’ He drew a hand across his throat and made a hissing sound.
Rocco handed Claude a duty-free bag. ‘Sworn to secrecy but a glass might loosen my tongue.’
‘Aiee, yi yi.’ Claude opened the bag and extracted a bottle of single malt whisky. He looked at Rocco with raised eyebrows. ‘You haven’t turned bank robber, have you? I mean, I don’t mind if you have, but just so I know.’ He called over his shoulder, ‘Alix — quick, three glasses before I wake up from this dream and this excellent whisky goes pouf and disappears!’
Rocco was surprised when Alix stepped into view, holding a serving spoon. ‘Sorry,’ he apologised. ‘I didn’t know you had company. I won’t stop-’
‘Ah, non!’ Claude grabbed his arm. ‘You don’t come bearing gifts and depart like a thief into the night, my friend. You must stay for dinner, at least. We have enough, don’t we, Alix?’
‘Luckily, yes.’ Alix gave Rocco a wry smile. ‘How did you know I liked whisky?’
‘Umm… I didn’t.’ It was a moment before Rocco realised she was teasing. He allowed himself to be dragged inside, deciding that sleep would have to wait.
‘So,’ said Claude, pouring generous measures, his voice dropping conspiratorially as Alix moved away to the kitchen, ‘how is Madame Drolet?’ He grinned and raised his glass, winking meani
ngfully. ‘Sante, mon vieux.’
‘What do you mean?’ Rocco drank, pretending ignorance. No doubt the village rumour mill had been grinding away, making, as his mother used to say, a cake out of a brioche.
‘Well, word is she’s been circling you like an elegant black widow spider, waiting to strike.’ He fluttered his eyebrows. ‘Are you feeling frightened?’
‘She’s harmless.’
‘No, she’s not. Take my word, if you’re not careful, she’ll drag you behind the counter one dark evening, roll you up in her web and paff! — Mme Denis will be needing a new neighbour.’
‘Who needs a new neighbour?’ Alix came to join them and relieved her father of his glass and took a small sip. ‘Are you two ready to eat?’
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The station the following day was unusually quiet, with a seemingly lower number than usual of miscreants with ill-gotten goods and drunks with sore heads. There was no sign of Saint-Cloud and Massin was in a meeting. Rocco was relieved; it had been a late night and he’d drunk more than he’d intended. But it had been pleasant, too, spending time with Claude and Alix, a welcome diversion from work.
He got to his desk and found a note waiting for him. Inspector David Nialls had called with urgent information. He picked up the phone and dialled the number in London.
‘Ah, Lucas,’ Nialls greeted him. The British policeman sounded sombre. ‘I’ve got some news. George Tasker was seen getting on a plane yesterday morning at a small airfield outside London. One of our officers was there helping a local customs and excise officer and recognised him. Sorry it’s late, but the news only just reached me. I’m not sure if it means anything, but I thought I should mention it.’
‘Was Calloway with him?’
‘No. He’s currently on set at Pinewood Studios, strapped into a car. There was another passenger with Tasker, but our man didn’t get a clear sighting of him. As for your chap Delarue, he’s already checked out of his hotel. Seems he got a phone call late last night and decided to leave earlier than intended. Your doing, I suspect.’
‘I doubt it; I’m pretty certain he didn’t see me. But someone might have warned him. Do you know where Tasker was heading?’
‘Not for certain. The pilot logged it as a training flight, but since Tasker wouldn’t know a joystick from a jelly bean, I would guess he was certainly a passenger and heading your way. Just watch your back — he’s a dangerous man.’
Rocco put the phone down. Tasker wasn’t the only dangerous man around. Men like Delarue were a threat on a far bigger scale. And if he and some known British gangsters were cosying up, as Nialls had called it, it was going to be bad news for somebody.
He spent the remainder of the day passing on the information about Delarue to Santer and other colleagues with a keen interest in the city’s gang activities. Massin might tell his bosses in the Interior Ministry, but on-the-ground information of the kind he’d seen was infinitely fresher and more useful than days-old bulletins. Next he tried Caspar’s number, but there was no answer. He then drove out to the site of the ramming, then on to the Pont Noir, clarifying in his own mind the similarities between the two locations. He was off the assignment with Saint-Cloud, but that didn’t mean he was off the job. More than ever he was convinced that he was right about the connection between the two. Proving it, however, was a different matter. Beyond a vague theory and a hand-drawn sketch linking them, he hadn’t got any firm evidence to back it up. Somehow he had to come up with something tangible — and soon.
It was late in the afternoon and just beginning to get dark when Rocco arrived back in Poissons. He called in at the co-op for some supplies, carefully not responding to Mme Drolet’s fluttering eyelashes and coy smiles in light of Claude’s gleeful warning, then headed home.
A Peugeot with a rental sticker in the rear window was parked outside his house. Its headlights were on, throwing a theatrical glow along the road, and two men were standing by the driver’s door.
One was pencil-thin and dark-haired, dressed in a crumpled coat. He was watching the lane, and turned as Rocco drove by. It wasn’t a face Rocco recognised. A news reporter, possibly, looking for some inside information. His presence in Poissons was no longer a secret, if it ever had been, and the search for up-to-the-minute news meant that reporters were no longer prepared to address all their questions through official channels in Amiens.
The second man was in shadow, and more difficult to see. Then he moved and straightened.
It was the bullish figure of George Tasker.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Rocco stopped a car’s length further on and got out. His MAB 38 was in his coat pocket but he left it there. If these men had wished him harm, they would have waited to catch him unawares, preferably somewhere more remote. And they wouldn’t have wanted the area stage-lit like this.
Tasker smirked as he recognised Rocco, and stepped away from the vehicle, placing himself half in shadow. But his hands were in plain sight. He was dressed in a sharp suit with a loud tie, and looked heavy and solid and unstoppable.
‘Well, look who’s come home at last,’ he said, cocking his head to one side. ‘You know, you’re a hard man to find, Rocco. The locals clammed up when I asked where you lived. Well, I say I asked them… it was actually Bones here who did the talking on account of he’s clever like that and I don’t like even thinking about your shitty language. What’s all the secrecy about, then? You a bit shy?’
‘What do you want, Mr Tasker?’ said Rocco. ‘I am busy.’
‘Hey — is that any way to welcome a man to your manor?’ Tasker threw his hands wide, the picture of innocence. ‘I mean, you come to mine and I’ll make you welcome.’ He grinned nastily. ‘Very welcome indeed — eh, Bones?’
The man known as Bones shrugged but said nothing. He climbed back in the car and started the engine. Speaking was clearly not his job. Rocco kept his eyes flicking between the two men. He didn’t see Bones as a threat; he was probably a driver and interpreter. If Tasker was here to do something physical, he’d want to take care of it himself. But there were still two of them and one of him. What concerned him was that they had gone to the trouble of finding out where he lived. There had to be a reason for that.
‘Get to the point.’
Tasker sneered. ‘Fair enough. I’ve got something for you. It’s in my jacket, so don’t you go shooting me, will you?’ He reached very carefully into his inside pocket and took out a white envelope. He stepped forward into the glare of the headlights, turning to glance at the house and gesturing with the envelope. ‘Nice place, by the way. Yours, is it?’
Rocco ignored him.
‘Never mind. See, thing is, little birdies have been telling us that you’ve been looking into things which don’t concern you. You even went and spoke to DI Nialls in New Scotland Yard.’ He lifted his eyebrows, waiting for a reaction from Rocco. ‘Yeah, you were spotted, don’t worry. We’ve got spies everywhere. Especially in the Allendale. I thought it was a bit outside your jurisdiction, you being French and all. But there you were, large as life. What was that about?’
‘What. Do. You. Want?’
Tasker scowled in mock hurt. ‘Aw, come on — don’t be like that.’ He pointed the envelope at Rocco and said, ‘We could’ve planted you first chance we got, you know that? Followed you back to that fleapit hotel you stayed in near Victoria and you’d have been found the next morning with your throat cut. Or we could have dropped you in the river with some weights tied round your ankles.’ He paused, dropping the smile. ‘I’d have paid good money to see that, you kicking against the current. But the boss said he didn’t want no “international incident”.’
‘Which boss is that?’ said Rocco. ‘Ruby Ketch?’
A flicker touched Tasker’s eyes. ‘Yeah, you have been busy, haven’t you? A right little French beaver. Well, fat lot of good it’ll do you… if you’re dead.’ He lifted the envelope and slapped it hard against Rocco’s chest. ‘But you’re lucky �
� for now. The boss said to give you this. A little goodwill gesture, he called it. Personally, I’d rather give you a bullet.’
He let the envelope go, forcing Rocco to catch it by reflex before it fell to the ground. It felt heavy, pliable, a good two-centimetres thick. Paper.
‘There’s a good boy.’ The words were uttered softly, and Tasker’s grin was sly. ‘Now, you stay away from our business, Rocco, me boy, and we’ll forget you ever existed.’
Rocco tossed the envelope back at him. ‘Trying to bribe a policeman in France is a serious offence,’ he said. ‘Tell Mr Ketch that I do not play those games.’
Tasker’s smile was still in place. He slipped the envelope back into his jacket and shrugged. ‘I told the boss it was a no-go, but he insisted. He likes to be nice, see, to avoid nastiness.’ He pointed a finger at Rocco and mimed pulling a trigger. ‘But I don’t.’
He turned and walked to the passenger side and got in. Bones was already behind the wheel and closing his door.
Seconds later, they were gone, leaving a whiff of exhaust fumes in the air, and the uncomfortable feeling in Rocco’s mind that something bad had just taken place.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Caspar nudged open the door of the Bar Relais and felt the welcoming brush of warmth against his face. After the cold of the streets outside, his skin began to tingle in response. He walked up to the bar, nodding at one or two faces around the room.
He was on familiar ground here in the 10th arrondissement, not far from the Gare de l’Est. But it didn’t mean he felt relaxed. Just a few streets away was the Arab quarter of Belleville, a place he wasn’t keen on seeing again anytime soon. Not so long ago he’d run foul of a man named Farek, an Algerian gangster who had been hell-bent on tracking down and killing his runaway wife… and, as it happened, Lucas Rocco. They had all three been lucky to escape with their lives, especially Caspar, and ever since he had made a point of keeping a careful eye out for hostile forces. The main man might have gone, shot dead on his own brother’s instructions it was rumoured, but memories here were long.
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